These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.
Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. (Lk 12:49-53)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102325.cfm
The early Christian community preserved this distressing saying from the Lord because it reflected the real lived experience of communities that had passed through terrible persecution. Many early Christians lost their families of origin when they joined the church, and so they had to become family to one another. In the family of the church we still employ the terms they used for one another: father, mother, sister, brother. https://youtu.be/ZypKcB-w5VY?si=0VKT9pr-1Ww6Vp8I
You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come. (Lk 12:39-48)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102225.cfm
As we come to these final weeks of the liturgical year, we begin to hear more words about being prepared for the coming of the Son of Man. My mother and I were privileged to meet Pope John Paul II twice when we visited Rome: in the Audienza following the general audience on January 18, the beginning of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, and one week later, January 25, the feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. https://youtu.be/srCwBJ0-ZY0?si=gZn6Uf3mSai-p1PT
Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 40)
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not, but ears open to obedience you gave me. Burnt offerings or sin offerings you sought not; then said I, "Behold I come."
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102125.cfm
Mother Laura (1874-1949) is the first canonized saint from Colombia. She founded a religious community of women missionaries dedicated to the indigenous and the marginalized. She worked to overcome racial discrimination. Sisters from her community work in 19 countries. Her tomb and shrine are in Medellín, Colombia. https://youtu.be/cDdniihKBzI?si=o1au-apDD3UwB6hj
Then Jesus said to the crowd, "Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life does not consist of possessions." (Lk 12:13-21)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102025.cfm
Money might make the world go around, as Liza Minelli and Joel Grey sing in the old musical, Cabaret, but it doesn’t necessarily bring happiness. The question will not be where we invested our money . . . but where have we spent our lives. “The only measure of your words and your deeds will be the love you leave behind when you’re done” (Rev. Fred Small, Everything Possible-Todo Lo Posible, 1983). https://youtu.be/2tJ7kvJvqAM?si=EEv1VDM0Cezbc7OX
Remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know from whom you learned it, and that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. (2 Tim 3:14-4:2)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101925.cfm
I am grateful for my grandmother and my mom. They taught me the faith and told me the stories of Jesus. Thanks to them I have spent 47 years in ministry as a priest. Today’s picture is from the day of my ordination, May 6, 1978, with Bishop Michael Begley, Nanny & Mom. https://youtu.be/WLdPoQnylnA?si=WfUSu81iJRkOEwvh
